The new president of Somalia is faced by a tough task of picking his new Prime Minister.
Lobbying for the PM position has intensified with Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo expected to pick after his inauguration.
Under the power sharing formula, the president who hails from Darood clan is bound to nominate the leader of government from the majority Hawiye clan.
The Hawiye clan has two sub-clans — the Abgal and the Habargidir — in consideration for the PM post.
This has set off intense lobbying with Habargidir expecting President Farmajo’s support.
According to Habargidir, the other sub-clan – Abgal has been at the helm of power for eight years as it is where former presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sheikh Sharif Ahmed hails from.
Eyeing the position of the Prime Minister from the Habargidir sub-clan include, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, a former senior political advisor to UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Somalia, and Abdinasir Abdule Mohamed, a Somali-American doctor. The two were unsuccessful contenders in the February 8 presidential election.
Also from Abgal include, former Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi, who served between 2004 and 2007, Hassan Mungab, a former mayor of Mogadishu and Abdirahman Omar Osman Yarisow, the current Senior Media & Strategic Communications Advisor to the Federal Government of Somalia.
The Habargidir are mostly businessmen — they control the lucrative khat business from Kenya and are a highly political sub-clan. They have a significant influence in Mogadishu security sector.
